Sasuga
by gwynora
Summary: Ainz finally tells the truth. Demiurge doesn't take it well. A short, silly story about the guardians finding out that Ainz is secretly clueless.
1. Part 1

"**[Death Knight]**," Ainz said, in the low, rumbling voice appropriate for a spell, as he pointed his finger at the corpse in front of him.

The magic sputtered out.

He'd expected that, of course. He'd done it out of some slim, silly hope that rules about MP weren't as strict in the New World as they were in YGGDRASIL, and that he could maybe squeeze out one more Death Knight today if he tried his hardest. Alas, that wasn't the case. Out of magic meant out of magic.

Damn, he thought. A small city to the west of Nazarick had recently defected from the Re-Estize kingdom and declared their fealty to the Sorcerous Kingdom. They feared that Re-Estize might retaliate against them for their treachery, so Ainz had personally promised to supply them with a force of 100 Death Knights to deter any attacks by tomorrow morning. Even though he'd been raising corpses all day, he was 10 summons off from the number he needed.

He supposed that he could wait another day, but that would give the impression that he didn't keep his promises, or worse, that he was too weak to send undead guards their way. That would set a bad precedent. Then, he thought about moving some from E-Rantel that way, but it would take too long to transport them at this point, which would result in delays anyway. Especially now that he didn't have the MP to make any Gates.

He hit himself in the cranium with his bony palm. Why did he promise that village so many guards!?

He didn't like it, but he saw only one option. Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a sparkling purple potion. This mana potion would give him enough MP to raise the rest of the army in time. He would have much preferred to save this potion for an emergency—he had a limited supply, and was certain that no pharmacist in this world could reproduce one of similar potency—but this was an emergency, when you looked at it from the right angle. The damage to his reputation would be devastating if he failed.

Ainz poured the potion into his open mouth, and awaited the familiar rush of energy that mana potions usually gave him. He felt a rush, that was certain, but it didn't feel like magical rejuvenation. Instead, it was an odd warm feeling, utterly unlike anything he had felt in this new world and yet strangely familiar. The flames in his eye sockets flickered as his vision grew blurry, and his head suddenly felt like it was filled with cotton.

"What the hell?" he said. He had only meant to think the words, but they came out before he could stop them. His sluggish brain was finally starting to recognize the feeling. "Am I… drunk?"

It all clicked. That stupid mana potion was a gag potion. Every once and a while a YGGDRASIL item, especially a consumable like a potion, would randomly turn out to have some bizarre effect as a prank. Their effects were unpredictable, but this one seemed to be making him feel absolutely hammered, and not in a fun way. It seemed to be bypassing his poison resistances too, which wasn't uncommon for these kinds of gag items.

He groaned and sat down, trying and failing to get a hold of himself. On second thought, it was a little fun; it had been a long, long time since he enjoyed an altered state of consciousness like this, and it was nice to feel a part of him unwinding from all the stress of rulership. On the other hand, he knew he wasn't going to get any work done like this. How long would this last?

He found himself unable to cling to any coherent train of thought for more than a few seconds. Instead, he just leaned back in his chair and wished it was possible for him to take a nap.

Ainz was partially shocked out of his stupor when he heard footsteps. He looked around dully until he spotted Demiurge approaching. The demon stopped at a respectful distance and bowed deeply, as usual. "I have researched the layout of this city and devised a defense strategy for the Death Knights, Lord Ainz," he said, with a hint of smug self-satisfaction. "Even if Re-Estize marched their entire army on us, they would never get a single man past the walls."

In his foggy state, Ainz couldn't muster up any kingly bravado, or think of how to phrase anything in a dignified way. "Nice," was all he could say.

"I presume the troops are ready?" Demiurge looked out over the batch of Death Knights, as if admiring their craftsmanship, but his impressed expression temporarily faulted. His lips moved rapidly, as if he were silently counting to himself. He was quiet for a long moment, but then a lightbulb went off in his mind, and his smile returned. "Brilliant as always, Lord Ainz."

"Huh?" Ainz's jaw hung slack as he scratched the side of his head in confusion.

"By limiting the number of Death Knights, you are testing my ability to adjust plans quickly to accomodate unforeseen setbacks," Demiurge said. "I will not let you down, my lord. The revised plans will be ready in time for the troop's departure."

Normally Ainz would have simply nodded, congratulated him on his insightfulness, and let the issue go. However, Ainz wasn't feeling very normal right now. He burst out into loud, hollow laughter.

Demiurge hesitated. "I'm sorry. I've gotten this wrong, haven't I?"

"Completely wrong." Ainz held his hand out towards the other, squinted, and pretended to tap Demiurge's forehead with his finger, even though there was too much distance between them. "Try again."

Deep down, Ainz knew that this was a disaster. There was a reason he'd always avoided going out for drinks with his coworkers when he was a salaryman. Whenever he was drunk, he would lose any ability to keep his words from tumbling out of his mouth, along with his ability to lie. His unfiltered honesty could destroy the relationship he had built with the residents of Nazarick, but did he care in his current state? No. Not at all. It felt good to finally say when he'd been locking up inside, including telling Demiurge he was wrong.

Demiurge stiffened at the criticism, and bowed again. He thought hard, as if his life depended on it. "Are you sending a smaller group of Death Knights to prove to the people that a single Death Knight is worth far more than the average soldier?"

Ainz shook his head, almost making himself dizzy in the process. "Wrong again."

"My sincerest apologies, my lord." Demiurge stayed in his bowing position, his body so stiff that Ainz wondered if he was stuck that way. "Your unfathomable genius evades me once again. I beg you to forgive my ignorance."

"Hmm." Ainz bobbed his head noncommittally. At this point, his desire to speak his mind far outweighed the decaying verbal filters he had left. "Do you want to know why, Demiurge?"

"Yes, my lord, if it will help me better serve you."

Ainz stood up, walked over to Demiurge, and leaned over to get closer to him. If that potion had actually been booze, the guardian would have been able to smell it on his breath. "Do you really want to know? Really really?"

Demiurge suddenly looked pensive. He straightened back up. "You mean, selfishly." He nodded. "Yes, I do. Nothing fulfills me more than understanding your will. I understand that it's often best for me to be kept in the dark, but I always want to know. Of course, you should never let my childish desires get in the way of your plans."

For a brief moment, Ainz felt bad about what he was about to do to Demiurge. The least he could do was offer one last out. "Are you sure? You're reaaaaally going to hate it." His words were beginning to slur together.

"Impossible," he said, with absolute certainty. "Your plans are without flaw. Even if I don't understand it at first, I have no doubt that I will come to accept it as the superior path."

Ainz laughed again, a bit more genuinely this time. This poor bastard. Maybe breaking the truth to him would be a mercy after all; the longer he waited, the harder it would be on Demiurge. No time like the present.

"Very well." Ainz straightened back up, wobbling slightly. "The truth is that this isn't a part of any plan. I just messed up."

Judging by Demiurge's expression, that was the one answer he wasn't ready for.

"I promised that city too many Death Knights," he said, "and now I'm out of MP so I can't make them all in time. Either we send too few now and we break our promise, or we send them later and look incom… incompi…" He couldn't figure out the big word. "Stupid."

Realizing that he had dropped the potion bottle soon after drinking it, he picked it up again, just to slam it on a nearby table for effect. "What was I thinking, promising that many!? I wasn't thinking, really. I never am. I just… bumble along." He swatted his hand, knocking the potion off of the table. It fell and shattered into a thousand pieces. He stared at it in dazed silence for a moment. "Oops."

"Are you feeling well, my lord?" Demiurge asked, his mouth a tense, uneasy line.

"I feel great." He looked down at the shattered bottle. "I'm all drunk, though. I drank a gag potion because I was too stupid to check if it was real or not. See, there's me being clueless, again."

Demiurge tried to gently take Ainz by the arm. "Perhaps you should lie down…"

"I'm fine," Ainz insisted. "You're just trying to change the subject!"

He tensed up at the accusation. "Certainly not, my lord. I'm simply concerned, that potion seems to have impeded your ability to think clearly…"

"Oh, I'm thinking clearly," Ainz snapped back.

Demiurge shook at the retort. Behind his glasses, his eyes were wide with horror as he realized his verbal slip-up. How could he have insulted his master's intelligence in such a callous way? As if simple drunkenness could best the infallible mind of the Lord of Nazarick himself. Ainz's powers of persuasion were so subtly brilliant that he'd been tricked into agreeing with the ridiculous theory that Ainz was clueless, even if the implication was just in his phrasing. He bowed his head in shame. "My lord, I—"

"You're just not used to me being honest," Ainz continued. "That's not your fault, I'm the one who has been lying to you."

That confession was like honey on Ainz's nonexistent tongue. He charged ahead. "Doesn't it strike you as odd, how I ask you to explain my plans to the other guardians instead of explaining them myself?"

"I assume that is because you have been testing my ability to interpret your genius."

Ainz let out a short, forceful laugh. "No, that's not it. I ask you to explain the plans, because they're your plans!"

Demiurge shifted uncomfortably. "I don't understand…"

"Listen. Here is the pattern," Ainz said, holding up one finger. "One, I make a mistake or do something stupid." He held up another. "Two, you somehow ra… ration…. rationablize whatever stupid thing I did into a secret chess move in a big secret plan that doesn't exist." His third finger went up. "Three, you come up with a whole big scheme that actually works based on my mistake. And four—" Instead of lifting another finger, he threw his hands out to the side in exasperation— "you say it was my plan all along, even though you came up with the whole thing by yourself!"

Ainz sighed and flopped back down into a chair. "You're the real brain behind Nazarick, Demiurge," he said. "You always have been. I'm just… I'm like the queen of England, or something." He meant to say he was a figurehead, but his frazzled mind couldn't remember the term.

"I'm sorry, my lord, I don't mean to question you, but this doesn't make sense!" Demiurge insisted. "Of course yours is the greatest mind here, and everything that happens is a part of your machinations! If I were Nazarick's best strategist, then how did you manage to make a vassal of the Baharuth Empire in three days when my inferior plan would have taken a month?"

"Dumb. Luck." Ainz rubbed his temples. "I only went to the Empire to advertise the adventurer's guild. Jircniv asked for vassalage out of nowhere! He blindsided me with that. I barely talked to him that day, too, so I don't know how the idea got in his head. I almost turned him down because I didn't know what a vassal state was. I still barely know what one is!"

He could practically see Demiurge's brain smoking, struggling to find some rationalization to get him out of this corner. "Is this a—"

"It's not a test," Ainz said, cutting him off. "And telling you isn't part of some plan. It's a terrible idea, really. Terrible. But I don't want to lie to you anymore." For a brief moment, Ainz seemed to sober in an instant, and he looked right into Demiurge's eyes with a regal intensity. "You trust that I'm being honest, don't you, Demiurge?"

He had never seen the guardian at such a loss for words before. At first, Ainz was worried that Demiurge would overload and reset, like an overheated computer, and carry on like this conversation never happened. Instead, Demiurge bowed his head. "I believe you, Lord Ainz."

Ainz nodded, his drunkenness returning in full force as quickly as it had left. The implications of what he had confessed to his subordinate weren't able to hit him through the thick wall of fuzziness around his mind.

"I will send the Death Knights on their way," Demiurge said, his voice stripped of confidence. "What would you like me to tell the city concerning the low numbers?"

Ainz waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever you want. You'll figure it out."

He bowed one last time and retreated from the room, his tail dragging along the ground in dejection.

Now alone with his drunkenness, two thoughts competed for Ainz's attention. The first was that he had just screwed up in a major way; if he had destroyed Demiurge's faith in him, that could cause him to betray Nazarick, and what if the news spread to the other guardians? The downfall of Nazarick could easily have started in this room. Unfortunately, this sensible thought lost the battle against his desire to lie down and see if he could fall asleep if he really, really tried. That potion seemed to bypass his poison resistance, so maybe his sleep immunity was compromised too? Worth a shot.

—

—

—

It wasn't often that Albedo ventured down to Nazarick's bar. It was a lovely establishment, and she did not judge its regulars for enjoying it one bit, but she was far too busy a woman to waste her time at any bar. Today was an exception. She'd be drawn down to this part of the 9th floor by a concerning rumor she'd heard about Demiurge. Apparently the demon had, to quote Aura, "broken," and hadn't left the bar since he send off that force of Death Knights a day ago.

Sure enough, she found him there. He sat at the bar with an uncharacteristic slump, staring into a glass of whisky as it if were a crystal ball. He didn't seem to notice when Albedo sat beside him.

"The Death Knights were transported without issue, I presume?" Albedo didn't need to ask, she already knew, but small talk with the other guardians was not her strength.

Demiurge slowly turned his head to face her. When Aura claimed that he was broken, Albedo assumed it was a childish term for him acting unusual. But now, seeing his face, she suspected that the problem was much deeper.

"Are you alright?" she asked. The words felt strange in her mouth. She'd never inquired about Demiurge's wellbeing in any serious way, though not due to a lack of caring. She simply had never seen the other guardian in such a state before. What could have brought him so low? Was it something about Ainz? She felt the urge to press the issue immediately, but held her tongue, knowing that if it were truly that important he would have gotten over himself and told her already.

Demiurge pushed the drink away from him. "No," he answered, frankly. "I've flown too close to the sun, I'm afraid." He sounded weary, as if he'd aged a dozen years in the past day.

Albedo cocked her head in confusion. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"I selfishly sought after information I wasn't supposed to know about the mind of Lord Ainz," he explained. "He warned me that I would hate knowing it. Now…" He winced. "This is what I get for ignoring the advice of a Supreme Being. I am a fool."

Albedo's eyebrows shot up. Never in her life did she imagine Demiurge would call himself a fool with such conviction. He often acknowledged that he was less intelligent than Ainz, of course, but he never put himself below the average mind like this. Was there really a truth so terrible that it could do this to him?

"What did he tell you?" Albedo asked.

He shook his head. "I will not say, as he has not given me permission to tell anyone. Besides, you are better off not knowing." She thought she heard a twinge of envy in his voice. "I couldn't stand to infect anyone else with this virus."

That made Albedo's curiosity burn all the brighter, but she knew it was a horrible idea to ask. Maybe later, when Demiurge had recovered somewhat, she could find out at least the general nature of the knowledge if not the unfortunate facts themselves. Still, she had to make sure of one thing. "Does this forbidden knowledge you have put Nazarick in danger?"

Suspiciously, he said nothing.

Albedo's look turned sour. "Demiurge."

He intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on them, staring into space. "My loyalties do not need to be questioned," he said.

"The fact that you speak of your loyalty first makes me question you more." She had been worried about how much trouble they would be in if Demiurge was interrogated for the information, not whether his loyalties still laid with Nazarick. This was worse than she had assumed.

"I should explain." He pushed his glasses up back into place, then glanced around, making sure that no one was listening. Thankfully, they were alone in the room at the moment. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "This information, if examined alone and without bias with a rational mind, leads to… unacceptable conclusions. There are inescapable implications that even I can't think of a logical way to dismiss."

Albedo's eyes narrowed. "How unacceptable?"

"It is a reason to betray Lord Ainz."

Albedo bristled at the mere string of words. Despite the context, she was tempted to pull out Ginnungagap and obliterate Demiurge right where he sat.

"Of course I would never do such a thing!" Demiurge hissed. "Obeying the Supreme Beings is our highest purpose. All of us guardians know this with every fiber of our being. I'm absolutely certain that there's some piece of knowledge that the Supreme Beings hid from us that justifies our service. I believe that's why Lord Ainz was comfortable telling me at all, he knew I would never turn on him no matter what."

The unshakable conviction in his words made her relax slightly.

"That being said, I can't count on every servant of Ainz to think the same way," he said. "And if anyone in Nazarick jumps to the wrong conclusion…"

"…it could be disastrous," Albedo finished for him.

Demiurge nodded. The rest didn't need to be said—that was why he could never tell anyone, even Albedo. A part of her wished that he would trust her loyalty enough to confide in her, but deep down she knew it wasn't worth the risk, and she couldn't blame him for his silence.

"I must confess," he continued, stirring the drink in front of him with his finger, "this revelation has not left me completely unaffected. Although my loyalty is still with him completely, I find that my enthusiasm for serving him has been lacking since that conversation."

Albedo glared at him when he said this, as if to say shame on you. By the way he kept his head bowed like a submissive dog, he must have agreed.

"Lord Ainz deserves to be surrounded by only the most eager and zealous servants," he said. "So, I'll remain here, until I can come to terms with what I now know about him."

"You know nothing about him."

Demiurge looked up in surprise. Albedo's expression was impossible to read. It was neither friendly nor scornful; serious, but not in a professional way; neutral, but far from blank.

"He's told you a secret, yes," she said, "but that doesn't mean you know anything about him. Lord Ainz is a Supreme Being, which means he is unknowable. Don't let yourself fall into baseless pride. No one could ever hope to understand the scope of his greatness, not even his closest guardians."

Perhaps she said this to help him reach the stage of acceptance sooner, but her words had a different, much more profound effect. He straightened out of his slump, and his eyes went so wide that Albedo could see his crystal eyes past the edges of his round glasses. "Could it be…?"

Suddenly, Demiurge was thrown into a fit of silent speculation. He muttered wordlessly to himself and twitched his fingers as if counting impossible numbers. His thoughts raced so quickly that veins popped on his temples. This continued for several minutes, and all the while Albedo watched patiently. Partially this was because she was curious what revelation she had accidentally inspired, but it was also because she knew any conclusion Demiurge drew with such dangerous information in his head could be a threat to Nazarick.

Finally, he calmed, and turned to her. "I cannot thank you enough, Albedo. I must confess, in the past I have secretly questioned many of the actions of our master. I am not proud of this, and of course I held my tongue out of respect. But now, the urge to ask any of those questions is gone." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he had just stepped into a promising new world and was enjoying the freshness of the air. "I have my answers. Everything Lord Ainz has ever done makes sense now. At least, as much sense as it ever could."

Albedo smiled warmly, although inside, she was screaming. Why did Demiurge get to have such a revelation, while she was left in the dark? She could only hope someday that Ainz would find her worthy. Of course, that was assuming that his thoughts were at all acceptable.

"May I ask a favor, Overseer?" Demiurge asked, quickly switching gears to business.

"Of course."

"Gather all of the guardians," he said, "as well as Lord Ainz, at his earliest convenience. I need to make sure this hole in security is plugged, once and for all."

Albedo hesitated. She was still unsure about what conclusion he drew, and whether or not his loyalty was still in tact. However, denying his request would do no good. If he meant to do what was best for Nazarick, such a meeting would be a good idea. If he didn't, then she would turn it into a public execution, and make an example of him.

"It shall be done."


	2. Part 2

**A/N: I'm so sorry this update took so long. It was a combination of real life getting busy and this chapter needing to be way, WAY longer than I originally planned. I hope it's worth the wait!**

**By the way, a disclaimer: I have only read two of the light novels so far (volumes 10 and 11), and most of my knowledge is based on the anime. I apologize if any of the logic I use here is inconsistent with light novel lore. **

_—_

_—_

_—_

_I'm screwed. I'm so screwed._

Ainz had been thinking that all day, ever since he recovered from the negative effects of that gag potion. Why did it have to be drunkenness!? He couldn't remember everything he told Demiurge, but from what he did recall, it was bad. The kind of bad that could make Nazarick fall apart.

After regaining his senses, his first instinct had been to flee to his office in E-Rantel to avoid running into Demiurge, but now that he was there he realized avoidance could be doing more harm than good. Maybe he should talk to him. He could lie and say that the potion made him spew falsehoods, but what if he didn't buy that? Demiurge had magic that could let him detect lies, and if his faith in Ainz was damaged, he might use it on him. Lying again could backfire and destroy any remaining respect Demiurge had for him.

Could he come up with some technically-true excuse? Maybe, but he couldn't think of one off the top of his head. He could threaten Demiurge into silence, but that could antagonize him further. Kill him preemptively? Despite his cold undead heart, the mere thought of murdering one of his friend's creations made him cringe. That wouldn't do at all. Maybe he could if Demiurge turned on them like Shalltear had, but before that moment such measures were off the table.

The hangover didn't make this problem any easier to solve. Ainz had forgotten how awful hangovers were, and was now more thankful than ever that he couldn't generally get drunk in this world. His emotional dampening wasn't even working as a proper painkiller. The throbbing headache was beginning to subside, but it kept him in a constant agitated state that left his thoughts scattered.

The first thing he had to do was assess the damage. He could talk to Demiurge about something innocuous, like the state of those Death Knights they sent over, and then gauge how the guardian treated him. If Demiurge acted odd around Ainz, that would be a clear sign that things were going south. He had no idea what would come after that, but taking this one step at a time was all he could do.

The sound of heels clicking against stone pulled him out of his thoughts. Albedo approached him with her usual poise and elegance. "I hope I am not interrupting you, Lord Ainz. I have a message for you."

"You are not, Albedo. I am not busy." Despite his panicky thoughts, his expressionless face helped him act like nothing was bothering him. "What is the message?"

Usually, when an underling of his showed up in person to deliver a message, it was of great importance and too sensitive to send over a Message spell. He could never know for sure when it came to Albedo, however. That woman would take any excuse to come speak with him, no matter how trivial.

"Demiurge has requested a meeting with you and all of the floor guardians at your earliest convenience," Albedo said.

Ainz froze up. _Oh, no._ Things were moving forward much faster than he had feared. His first instinct was to deny her request, but what if that made the guardians think he had something to hide? He could say that he had important matters to attend to, but he'd also just told Albedo that he wasn't busy, so that would be a contradiction.

"What does this meeting concern?" he asked, trying to buy time.

"Demiurge says it is about fixing a security flaw he has found within the Tomb of Nazarick," she replied.

Asking was a mistake; now that he knew that, it wouldn't make any sense for him to put this meeting off. The guardians knew that he valued the safety over Nazarick over everything else, and would drop everything to address a security flaw. He groaned internally. He'd bet all the gold in the treasury that he was the security flaw Demiurge was so concerned with.

"That sounds important," he said. "We shall meet with the guardians in the throne room right away. Please open a **[Gate]** for me." He could have done it himself, but if this meeting turned violent, he would need the MP to defend himself.

"As you wish, Lord Ainz." Albedo lifted her hand to cast it, but hesitated. "Before we depart, I should warn you. I am not entirely sure if Demiurge is in his right mind." Her expression turned grim. "I will be watching him closely, and will stop him if he steps out of line."

That wasn't what Ainz wanted to hear. Still, he nodded in appreciation. "I hope that won't be necessary."

With that, Albedo opened the **[Gate]**, and the two of them stepped through into the throne room. "I will call the rest of the guardians," Albedo said, then moved away to cast a few **[Message]** spells.

Ainz settled into this throne, and casually wondered if this was the last time he would sit in it. He was upset about how events were unfolding, sure, but not nearly as much as he would have expected. His undead nature even eased the pain of Nazarick potentially slipping away from him. Rather than biting his fingertips in stress, he thought critically and calmly about what he might do if the guardians really did turn on him. His first step would be to teleport out of the Tomb of Nazarick as quickly as possible to avoid an immediate attack. Then, he could call all of his undead summons to his side and have them hold off the floor guardians. They would be demolished quickly, but it could buy him precious minutes to escape.

While the floor guardians were distracted, he could teleport farther away, and use every anti-scrying trick he had to make sure no one could follow him. But then, were would he go? He couldn't take refuge anywhere within the Sorcerous Kingdom, obviously, nor could he count on the allies of the kingdom, since they could decide to side with the floor guardians. At this point, every nation he knew of that wasn't allied with his kingdom was hostile, so they weren't an option either; he wasn't keen on facing the Slane Theocracy or even the Re-Estize Kingdom without the backing of Nazarick. His only option was to go far, far away, somewhere off the edges of the map, in hopes that word of his activities couldn't reach back to the known world.

As he pondered his strategy, the floor guardians trickled in. Mare and Shalltear arrived almost immediately using their Rings of Ainz Ooal Gown, but Aura and Cocytus weren't far behind. Gargantua and Victim were unable to attend for the usual reasons. That left one guardian absent.

"Where's Demiurge?" Aura asked, tapping her foot. "Isn't he the one who wanted this meeting?"

"He isn't usually late…" Mare said.

A few minutes later, another **[Gate]** opened, and Demiurge made his entrance. Ainz stiffened up at the sight of him. Demiurge was a hard man to read, but he lacked his usual smug smile. He approached the throne, then dropped to his knee and genuflected.

"Thank you for agreeing to this meeting, Lord Ainz," he said. "I apologize for making you wait."

Ainz held up a skeletal hand. "It's fine." Well, at least Demiurge was still showing the usual signs of loyalty. However, he could not discount the possibility that it was all an act. "I heard that you found a security flaw in Nazarick?"

Upon hearing that, the floor guardians besides Demiurge and Albedo blinked in surprise and muttered to each other in concerned tones.

"That is correct," Demiurge said.

"Then we must fix the issue right away." The orbs of fire in Ainz's eye sockets flickered as he spotted an opportunity. "Perhaps it would be best for us to discuss the matter in private, Demiurge. The fewer people know about the security risk, the less likely it is that someone outside of Nazarick will learn of it and abuse it. I'm sure that if we put our minds together we can fix it ourselves."

Ainz's face was unmoving, but inside he wore a sly smile. Even if Demiurge was willing to ignore his suggestions now, what was the likelihood that he'd be willing to defy authority in front of the other guardians? If everyone attacked him for his insubordination, he would be killed in seconds. The audience that Demiurge had insisted on bringing would be his own downfall.

"In most circumstances, I would agree with you, but I'm afraid the only way to combat this threat is to make sure that everyone in this room is thoroughly educated on the subject," he said. Ainz could tell that the answer was well-prepared. "This security flaw is rooted in ignorance." Perhaps he was imagining it, but he swore he heard an odd inflection on the word ignorance, as if that were a subtle jab at Ainz.

Ainz's grip on his armrests tightened. He may have known more about magic and YGGDRASIL-related subjects, but Demiurge was a far better social manipulator than he was. He'd probably thought of a deflection for every excuse to stop him that Ainz could ever think of. Ainz's only advantage was that the rest of the guardians were currently on his side… maybe. Could Demiurge have already converted them before he arrived?

Demiurge must have sensed the tension coming off of him. He stayed on his knees, but spoke loudly and clearly enough to address the whole room. "Unfortunately, I find myself at am impasse. You see, this information is something that Lord Ainz would prefer to keep private."

"Then say nothing!" Albedo cut in. The only thing keeping her from lunging at Demiurge like an angry dog was the courtly decorum she tried to exhibit in front of Ainz.

Normally Demiurge would have been offended by such an interruption, but something was keeping him even-tempered. He continued as if he had not heard her. "I would never want to make my master uncomfortable. However, after thinking about it for a long while, I believe that this is necessary regardless."

He met Ainz's gaze, his crystal eyes seeming to look right past his skeletal face to see the weak, nervous man underneath. "My lord, you have made it clear to us that the safety of Nazarick is your first priority. This secret could lead to disaster for us all if it is kept. If we are to achieve the utopia that the Sorcerous Kingdom is meant to be… no, if we are to even preserve what all of the Supreme Beings worked so hard to create, everyone here must know."

The mention of the other Supreme Beings shook Ainz to his very core. Demiurge was right—his own feelings should pale in comparison to the importance of Nazarick as an institution, as a monument to the achievements and camaraderie of Ainz Ooal Gown. No, Nazarick was more than just that. The people here were his family. And now, Demiurge's wisdom was opening his eyes to a horrifying realization.

His stupidity wasn't just some private matter that he kept secret for his own personal gain. It was a security threat to all of Nazarick. Someday his bad decisions would lead them all to ruin, and they would trust him until their dying breath like fools, because that's what his lies had molded them into. He was putting his only family in grave danger. If he kept lying, everyone he loved in this world could die.

_I am no king_, he thought. _I'm nothing but a selfish coward._

Despite his emotional dampening, deep shame permeated through his every bone. Every single one of the floor guardians would give their life in an instant for the good of Nazarick, and he should be willing to do the same, even if that meant betrayal and exile. If the Tomb would be better off with someone more politically capable in charge, so be it. He would raise no objections to his dethronement.

Although he still felt some dread, most of it had been replaced by a conviction to do right by Ainz Ooal Gown. Perhaps if he submitted gracefully to Demiurge's requests, the floor guardians would be more understanding, and this meeting wouldn't devolve into a brawl. Maybe they would even let him stay as a member, albeit a demoted one. He could replace whichever floor guardian rose up to his current position, or maybe he could be an area guardian if he couldn't be trusted with a floor guardian's responsibilities. In all honesty, he would don a maid's uniform and join the Homunculi without complaint if it were the only way for him to stay.

"My lord." Demiurge bowed his head. "I humbly request that you give me permission to speak. I know that it will displease you, but I will accept any punishment you deem fit when I am finished."

Ainz was surprised that Demiurge asked for permission instead of blurting it out, but when he considered the move, it made sense. The other guardians would immediately go on the defensive the moment Demiurge made his claim, and if he wasn't careful, they could either verbally or physically attack him before he could sway them into believing that Ainz was unfit to rule. On the other hand, if he could manipulate Ainz into giving him permission to speak, that would give the other guardians the impression that their master endorsed his words. This had two benefits—it would buy him time to present his logical arguments to them, and it would make his claims far more believable.

Ainz couldn't help but be impressed by how well Demiurge was handling this. _He really has me cornered, doesn't he?_

"You may speak your mind," Ainz declared, in his best kingly voice. He knew there was no point in trying to impress them now, but it was more for old time's sake; for all he knew, this could be the last command he ever gave as a leader.

Demiurge rose to his feet. He hesitated and cleared his throat, as if he was afraid to start.

"Yesterday, Lord Ainz confessed something about himself to me in confidence," he said, addressing the whole room. "Something that recontextualizes many of the actions he has taken as our leader."

"IN. CONFIDENCE?" Cocytus snorted a cloud of icy gas. "ARE. YOU. SURE. THIS. IS. ACCEPTABLE. LORD. AINZ?"

"It is." Ainz barely kept his voice from sounding defeated. "Demiurge is permitted to share this information with all of you. Please, continue."

Demiurge nodded. "Thank you, Lord Ainz." He proceeded with more confidence, now that he had explicit permission. "I am sure many of you have noticed that our master often asks me to explain steps of his most complex and wide-reaching plans to you, so that you can all understand. But, when his plans are simpler and more direct, he explains them to us himself."

The other guardians looked at him in annoyed confusion, not seeing his point.

"This has always struck me as odd. If he tasked me with explaining his every plan, that would make sense, as it would be my responsibility. If I was told to explain the simple plans that are not worth his valuable time, but he personally explained his more sophisticated plans that a lesser mind is likely to misinterpret, that would also be reasonable. It would also make sense if he asked me to explain only some of his complex plans as a test of my intelligence."

"And what if he's always testing you?" Albedo asked, eyes narrowed viciously.

"That is what I always believed before yesterday's revelation," he replied. "However, that raises another question. Never once has Lord Ainz denied or significantly corrected my interpretation of his will when he has asked me to explain it to you all or repeat it back to him."

"Doesn't that just mean you're good at your job?" Aura asked.

"Then why is it that when I am not directly asked, I am often utterly baffled by him, and my expectations of his plans are constantly being proven wrong by his actions? How can I understand him so astutely one day and not understand him at all the next?"

Aura opened her mouth to retort, but no argument came out.

"The truth is hard to accept," he continued. "I wouldn't be able to accept it myself if I hadn't heard it directly from Lord Ainz." He took a deep breath. "The truth is that Lord Ainz doesn't have any long term plans."

Ainz expected the other guardians to react with shock, anger, dismay, or even just disappointment in him. Instead, they seemed confused for only a moment before their usual joyous expressions returned.

"Wow, if that's true, Lord Ainz must be amazing at thinking on his feet!" Aura exclaimed. "I never had a clue!"

"Naturally." Albedo smiled. "This is a chaotic world, and to create detailed plans for the long term is a fool's errand. It's much more important to be flexible. A brilliant approach, my lord!" She took a moment to soak up the warmth of her master's greatness, and then her smile suddenly shifted into a scowl as she glared down at Demiurge. "What I want to know is why you find this so disturbing."

"There's more to it than just plans," Demiurge said, his tone defensive. "The reason Ainz asks me to describe his plans for him is not only because he doesn't have a plan himself, but because he doesn't have the knowledge to make effective political plans on his own!" He faltered, as if he hadn't intended to raise his voice. "B-by his own admission, the plans I interpret for him are really just plans I came up with and falsely attributed to him—"

"SLANDER!" Albedo pounced on Demiurge, her fingers digging into his lapel like the claws of an animal. Her mouth practically foamed as she shouted. "How dare you! You think you're smarter than the leader of the Supreme Beings!? What disgusting arrogance!" For a moment, it looked like she was going to throttle him on the spot.

"Albedo!" Ainz's voice boomed through the hall, freezing her in place. "Let him go. He… he speaks the truth."

She let go of Demiurge and looked back at Ainz, her yellow eyes filled with shock and confusion.

Demiurge looked like he was about to speak again, but Ainz feared things might devolve further into chaos if he continued. He raised his hand to silence the demon as well. "Demiurge, my deepest apologies," he said to him directly. "I shouldn't have let you say all this to the others, when I knew it might make them angry with you. It was cowardly of me. I will tell them myself."

Now it was Demiurge's turn to look shocked. He stared at Ainz for a moment, his breath caught in his throat, but then he stepped back. "As you wish."

Ainz stood. Although his fine robes still fluttered around him in a regal way, he felt nothing like a king at the moment. "The truth is, I've been lying to you all. I'm not proud of this fact, and I wish I hadn't. It was not for the good of Nazarick, it was a selfish attempt to protect myself. I do not expect your respect for me to remain in tact after this."

He hung his head in shame. "I cannot lie anymore—in terms of education and intelligence, I am completely unfit to be a leader of any kind. I know nothing about politics or economics or law… I can barely do mathematics beyond basic arithmetic." It was true—his education had started and ended with elementary school, and he'd always been so focused on playing YGGDRASIL that he failed to continue his education on his own. "In all areas but YGGDRASIL mechanics, my practical knowledge is abysmal."

He buried his face in his hands and shook his head. His Overlord voice was losing its impressive edge, and for a moment he was worried that his voice would turn from the deep rumble of Ainz Ooal Gown to the pathetic whine of Suzuki Satoru that he still so often heard inside his own head.

"I have no experience managing people, either," he continued. "I was the guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, yes, but that title means far less than you would think. All of the decisions about how the guild was run were democratic. I only got the title because I was more active than everyone else. My only real responsibilities were preparing the guild hall for when the other players arrived, and keeping Nazarick maintained while they were away… I was more of a maid than a king!" The realization made him want to curl up in embarrassment. "The only reason anyone from this new world respects me is because they all happen to be so much weaker than the average YGGDRASIL player. My actual diplomacy skills are pathetic."

Perhaps he was slipping into hyperbole and making himself sound far more worthless than he actually was, but after over a year of ruling by fraud, he genuinely felt worthless. His opinions on his own inadequacies had been pent up inside him so long that they had exaggerated exponentially, like a dragon growing in power with each passing year. His emotional dampening couldn't make his statements less extreme, because as far as he could tell, he was simply stating facts.

"I have no 10,000 year plan. I don't have any good plans at all! I suppose I have some vague ideas of things I want to do, but inevitably I'll have to rely on all of you guardians to fill in the details for me. The reason I pass all of the paperwork and political tasks off to Demiurge and Albedo is because I can't understand any of it myself. I've tried to study law and politics on my own, but I'm too dense to grasp it even when I put my mind to it. I am far, far from the genius I pretended to be."

He paused. If he had to breathe, he would have taken a deep, steading breath. He had been ranting for so long that he had stopped paying attention to the guardians before him, and if he were being honest, he didn't want to look at them again. Were they angry with him? Saddened? Betrayed? He didn't dare check their faces to find out.

"Ultimately, the truth is that my incompetence is putting Nazarick in danger," he finally said. "It's only a matter of time before I make an uninformed decision that leads to disaster. We've narrowly avoided that once." His nonexistent heart skipped a beat as he remembered what happened with Shalltear. "I got lucky that day. But someday it will happen again, and we won't have the same luck. That is the security threat Demiurge speaks of.

"The safety of Nazarick, the safety of all of you, is my first and only priority, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure it. I will not let my ego blind me any longer—Nazarick would be safer in any of your hands than it currently is in mine." He took a few steps away from the throne, head lowered in defeat. "I am truly sorry for failing you all. The loyalty you have shown has inspired me, and I will strive to match your example. From this point forward, I am stepping down as leader of Nazarick. I will serve whoever you all decide put in charge." He suspected it would be either Demiurge or Albedo. Good. They would both do a wonderful job.

In the heavy silence that followed, Ainz stared down at the floor. He wondered what the first sound would be. An attack against him? A shout of rage? A cold voice, asking for a vote on the new leader of Nazarick? Until then, he pondered what he would do now. Since he was stepping down, there was no way he could keep the name Ainz Ooal Gown; he'd have to switch back to Momonga. He started wondering how he was supposed to handle the name change publicly, and whether that would draw too much attention to he and Momon being one and the same. Maybe he needed a new name—

No. He didn't need to think about this right now. He relaxed, realizing that no one would expect answers from him anymore. It was… freeing. For the first time in a long while, he was allowed to live in the present. He calmed his mind and appreciated the quiet like it was a fine work of art.

Finally, the silence was broken by the voice of Demiurge—which was, oddly, an octave higher than normal.

"T-that wasn't what I meant to imply at all!" he squeaked. Ainz finally looked up at him. The poor man was quaking in abject panic.

The other guardians weren't in a much better state. They seemed, for lack of a better word, broken. Some were dumbfounded, others horrified. Aura and Mare were close to tears.

Seeing them all falling apart in front of him crushed Ainz inside, and for a moment, he believed that he made a terrible mistake. But then his undead side snuffed out the guilt, and he knew this was for the best in the long term. He just had to make it clear to them that they were still serving Nazarick and the vision of the 41 Supreme Beings, even if Ainz wasn't calling the shots. That was what they were programmed for, so once they accepted that, they should be able to move on.

"Everyone remain calm!" Demiurge shouted, not at all calm himself. "Lord Ainz will not be stepping down, I assure you!"

Ainz sighed. "I'm afraid I've made up my mind, Demiurge."

"With all due respect, my lord." Demiurge's crystal eyes glinted. "You're wrong."

Those two simple words threw Ainz completely off balance. He'd been preparing all day for Demiurge to turn on him, and still, hearing those words out of his mouth was a surreal experience.

"You are correct that there are a lot of things you do not know, which is exactly why you are wrong about the rest. Regardless of what you believe, you are a great leader and Nazarick is safest in your hands." He declared this with absolute conviction. "I called this meeting in hopes of explaining exactly why, so that if any of the guardians found out what you told me by accident, they would never draw a conclusion as unacceptable as the one you described. I need to make sure they are all aware of the full story, and… Well, I suspected you may not have known yourself. It seems I was correct."

Ainz almost told Demiurge to stop this nonsense, as it wasn't helping the others adjust to reality, but continuing to boss the floor guardians around wasn't in the spirit of him stepping down as leader. He listened in silence, curious about where Demiurge was going with this.

"As you are all aware," Demiurge said, "the Supreme Beings are fundamentally different than other forms of life. They have access to Super Tier magic, they have the ability to create greater lifeforms like ourselves, and they are naturally worthy of absolute loyalty. All of these things are obvious and self-evident. However, there are other differences that are less often discussed, which may be hard to notice from the perspective of a Supreme Being. You all remember what the Supreme Beings were like before we arrived in this new world, yes?"

The other floor guardians all nodded. They all seemed to be thinking hard, as if they had to strain themselves to call up the memories.

Ainz was shocked that they confirmed this at all. Hadn't the NPCs only gained consciousness when they arrived in the new world? He knew that they had some vague understanding of their past based on their programmed backstory, but did this mean they had concrete memories?

Demiurge turned back to Ainz. "My Lord, we are not sure how you saw us, but from our perspective the Supreme Beings were inscrutable." His tone became oddly romantic, as if he were remembering the old days fondly. "You would slip in and out of reality as naturally as a frog slips in and out of the water, without even using a spell. And you spoke with so much power that we could not grasp the meaning of your words, even though we understood the language. We could only understand you when we were lucky enough to receive a direct order from a Supreme Being." He sighed, and reveled in the nostalgia for a moment. "It has been a long time since you have shown us that side of you, Lord Ainz."

A realization hit Ainz. He had only ever seen the NPCs as mindless mannequins in YGGDRASIL, so perhaps the floor guardians had seen him as equally inhuman back then. However, instead of digital dolls who were capable of extremely little, the players could have came across as alien entities that operated on a level that the NPCs couldn't comprehend. Slipping in and out of reality must have referred to logging in and out of the game, which they'd done in front of the NPCs countless times. And it made sense that any conversation besides the basic commands they were programmed to understand would sound like gibberish to them. If that weren't the case, everyone here would already know that Ainz was just a human salaryman stuck in an Overlord's body.

"Fascinating…" Ainz muttered to himself.

"Lately, Lord Ainz has brought himself closer to our level for the sake of clear communication between us all, but that does not change the fact that he is a Supreme Being," Demiurge said, addressing the whole group again. "I believe the misunderstanding here today is rooted in the differences between the minds of Supreme Beings and our own minds. We have been treating Lord Ainz's intelligence solely as a difference in degree, when in reality it is mainly a difference in kind."

He seemed to have expected that to be a big reveal, but the other floor guardians just stared at him with baffled looks on their faces. He retracted his grand expectations, gathered himself, and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I see, as I had expected. You all have the information needed to find the truth, but even when I push you in the right direction, you cannot have the revelation yourself. That is good to know; I was embarrassed about how long it took me to piece the answer together, but it seems the truth is just that elusive.

"Allow me to explain. In the past, you have all heard Ainz mention that the Supreme Beings have avatars, yes?"

The floor guardians all nodded. It was true, Ainz had mentioned many concepts from YGGDRASIL in passing during his time in the new world, including player avatars. He'd never explained to the others what that meant, of course, since that would require explaining that there was a human from another reality driving this body.

"Well, what is an avatar?" His question was clearly rhetorical. "The proper definition: _a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form; an incarnate divine teacher._"

Oh, no. Ainz had completely forgotten about the actual definition of the word outside of video games. What was he thinking, mentioning it so carelessly in front of the floor guardians? That was bound to put troublesome ideas in their heads.

"One would have difficulty arguing that the Supreme Beings aren't a form of diety, considering their magnificent power and ability to create life," he continued. "This is especially true from the perspective of humans, who are so far lesser than us, and likely coined the term. So, it seems that the Supreme Beings have avatars in this sense. Which means—"

"—Lord Ainz is Momonga's avatar," Shalltear said, her voice filled with awe. "He's been constantly teaching and testing us… an incarnate divine teacher!"

Demiurge nodded in approval. "Precisely, Shalltear."

It took everything Ainz had to keep from burying his face in his hands. How did Demiurge turn finding out he's an idiot into treating him like a literal god!?

All of the guardians looked to Ainz with eyes full of veneration—well, all but one. Albedo looked even more upset than before.

"Does that mean…" She took a few wobbling steps away from the throne. "Is Ainz… not Momonga?"

"Easy, Albedo. He is still Momonga, in the sense that you mean," Demiurge assured her. "There is simply far more to him than any of us can perceive."

At that, she relaxed. She no longer seemed to be on the verge of heartbreak, but she still stared at Ainz with an odd expression he wasn't used to. He tried not to squirm.

Demiurge held a hand out to the side in a grand gesture, signalling the beginning of his conclusion. "You see, a Supreme Being is not composed of a single unified mind like ours are. Their consciousness is fragmented in order to create something far more complicated and powerful than a singular consciousness can achieve! I cannot say how many pieces there are, but the Lord Ainz before us is only one of them."

What? Ainz felt just as lost as all of the guardians looked when they heard that.

Demiurge turned to Ainz. "My lord, the reason you perceive yourself as unqualified is not because you truly are. Rather, it's because this portion of you inhabiting this avatar is intentionally made ignorant to much of the knowledge and reasoning that the larger system possesses."

Aura pouted and tilted her head. "I don't get it, Demiurge. Are you saying Lord Ainz smart or not?"

"He is smart, but he doesn't know it," he explained. "To put it simply, let's say Lord Ainz has two minds—one conscious mind, which the version of him in this avatar aware of, and one unconscious mind, which he is unaware of. This is likely a gross oversimplification, but it will work for our purposes. The unconscious mind is the part which holds the great wisdom of a Supreme Being and meticulously plans every action that Lord Ainz takes. It is what holds the 10,000 year plan. However, his conscious mind doesn't know that these strategies are being formed, and assumes there is no plan."

Cocytus's rigid, insectoid face made it difficult to tell how well he was following this explanation. "BUT. IF. HE. DOES. NOT. KNOW. THE. PLAN. HOW. CAN. HE. EXECUTE. THE. PLAN?"

"His unconscious mind is able to drip information into the conscious mind, in the form of split-second decisions, bursts of inspiration, and even so-called mistakes." By the way he said the word, Demiurge clearly didn't believe a real mistake was possible. "At any given moment, the conscious mind knows just enough to take the next successful step, but it never has enough awareness to see the big picture.

"Such a structure seems unintuitive, but it has a number of benefits," he assured them. "For one, having the unconscious mind worry about future plans allows the conscious mind to focus its resources on more immediate tasks. Controlling the incredible power that a Supreme Being wields must be exceptionally taxing and require equally exceptional focus, especially in combat. In addition, fighting requires so much situational awareness and rapid decision making that handling it with an unconscious mind would be inefficient. From how he has spoken in the past, it is clear that Lord Ainz's conscious mind is overflowing with knowledge of battle tactics and the workings of magic. Even without the unconscious mind's help, this body is more than capable of defending itself and Nazarick. This division of labor, with the conscious mind dealing with immediate threats and the unconscious mind planning for the future, must be intentional.

"Second, the seperation is one of Nazarick's most powerful security measures. Because Lord Ainz does not know his own plans, it is impossible for him to reveal them to any enemies of Nazarick. Even the most powerful mind reading magic would fail, because the information does not reside in this avatar's mind. As long as we trust our lord's commands without demanding unnecessary details, the Sorcerous Kingdom's secrets will be safe.

"And, lastly, the ignorance of the conscious mind keeps Lord Ainz humble. He is so much more powerful and capable than everyone around him, but he stays prudent because he believes that he doesn't know what he's doing. A lesser being without such a defense would have been consumed by pride long ago. If Nazarick ever encounters a true threat, such vices could be our demise. I myself have almost fallen into the trap of arrogance many times, but I am fortunate enough to have Lord Ainz to humble me, as do all of you. He has no greater example to measure himself against, so he has found a way to humble himself."

Demiurge shifted from one foot to the other, as if he were suddenly uncomfortable. "This humility may also be why he is willing to be so personal with his mere servants, even though we are unworthy of such kindness." His voice was uncharacteristically soft. He smiled. "It seems we are the ones who benefit most from this arrangement."

He seemed to be finished. Perhaps in the pause that followed, Ainz should have taken the opportunity to speak up, but he couldn't think of what to say. Should he deny this insanity? But, if he were to, how could he? Demiurge had invented a theory which painted Ainz as some godlike being of unfathomable genius, yet at the same time affirmed that he was too clueless to argue against it.

"FORGIVE. ME. MY. LORD." Cocytus said. "EVEN. KNOWING. YOU. I. FIND. IT. HARD. TO. COMPREHEND. THAT. SUCH. A. STRATEGICALLY. PERFECT. BEING. COULD. EXIST."

"Is this true, Lord Ainz?" Albedo asked, her whole body shivering in excitement.

Every pair of eyes in the room bore into him, beaming admiration so strong that it put every declaration of loyalty any of them had ever made to shame. Talking them out of this would be a fruitless endeavor.

In that moment, Ainz understood. After all of his endless worrying about impressing the floor guardians and keeping their loyalty, he now realized that disappointing them was literally impossible. Their respect for him was baked into every fiber of their being. He didn't have to change himself to meet their expectations, because their expectations would naturally change to fit whatever he did. What he said next didn't matter one bit.

So, he might as well speak the truth.

He collapsed back into the throne, then buried his face in his hands and let out the kind of loud, tired sigh he never allowed the guardians to hear from him before. "I must apologize, Demiurge," he said. "I underestimated your ability to make every last thing I do sound admirable. Your mental gymnastics are truly impressive."

Demiurge beamed with pride, missing the sarcasm completely. "I am not worthy of such praise, my lord!"

Ainz couldn't hold back a deep, bellowing laugh which echoed through the vast throne room. He almost neared the point of falling out in his chair in hysterics, but his emotional dampening brought it back down to a sensible chuckle. "I admit, I am not convinced," he said. "This theory of yours seems far-fetched. I nor any of the other Supreme Beings are as you describe."

"It is only natural for you to think that way, my lord," he replied without hesitation. "To keep the benefits I mentioned, your mind needs to stay compartmentalized, so your conscious mind is designed to reject the notion. What matters is that your most loyal servants understand the truth, so that we may better serve you."

"No matter how much you want to believe this, I cannot let you all pin the safety of Nazarick on a fanciful daydream." Perhaps Ainz was being harsh, but he was growing annoyed with their illogical devotion. "You have no real evidence to support this, as everything you mentioned can be easily explained by me being an actual idiot. My lack of skill is dangerous, and I will still be stepping down."

"No evidence, you say?" Demiurge's eyes gleamed in an almost sinister manner. "If you would entertain me, my lord, answer this for me—in all of our time here, when have you truly failed as our leader?"

Ainz paused, not because he couldn't think of an example, but because it still hurt to think about. "The incident with Shalltear." He saw Shalltear flinch and almost fall to the ground in a bow of apology, but he held up his hand to stop her. "That was entirely my mistake."

"But was it really a mistake?"

Ainz nearly reeled back when a toothy, devilish grin grew on Demiurge's face. He'd never been on the other end of a real argument with this demon before, and it was an unnerving place to be.

"In the short term, yes, it seemed to be a mistake on the part of all of us," he said. "But looking back, was it not for the best in the long term? We discovered valuable information about an enemy of Nazarick, while also threatening said enemy enough to keep them from challenging us again. You allowed all of us to witness your great power, further cementing our loyalty to you. And I have noticed that Shalltear's behavior is much improved since suffering a defeat at your hands." He glanced back at the vampire, who had all but curled into herself in shame. "She was brought back in the end after your absolute victory, so nothing of value was lost. In hindsight, the incident with Shalltear was an overwhelming success, and only strengthened Nazarick."

When he thought about it, all of that was true. Aside from some emotional damage, Nazarick had escaped that disaster unscathed, and the benefits Demiurge brought up were all valid.

Demiurge wasn't done. "Yesterday, you told me that you go through life by, I quote, bumbling along. If you were of inferior intelligence as you claim to be, living in such a way would result in a multitude of failures, correct? But that is not what has happened. Nothing you have done has resulted in true disaster. If you merely avoided disasters that you caused, you could blame your immense power for that, but you haven't caused any. Instead, your every supposed mistake or uninformed choice has lead to undeniably positive outcomes for Nazarick. The acquisition of the Baharuth Empire, for example. You secured their vassalage in a mere three days without any loss of life. You claim it was luck, but how could an result so perfect in all aspects be a coincidence?"

Demiurge had a point. Things had always worked out in Ainz's favor since arriving in the new world, in a way that defied logic when he thought hard about it. He had always blamed his luck, but that was starting to sound even more far-fetched than the theory they were discussing.

What if Demiurge was right?

Not about the Supreme Beings all having hyper-advanced multifaceted minds that worked as he described, of course. Ainz knew that he and all of his friends had just been simple humans. However, the idea that there was some unconscious mind with greater plans secretly driving his actions could not be discounted so easily.

There was no doubt that his undead race had an effect on his psychology, in the form of emotional suppression and a lack of empathy for human beings. In YGGDRASIL lore, Overlords were supposed to possess an unparalleled intellect, the sort that the floor guardians often praised him for having. In addition, taking over the world was never an aspiration of Suzuki Satoru, but sounded completely in-character for a vile evil undead of such high level. Could it be that this undead form of his was scheming on its own and controlling his actions through unconscious impulses? Was he controlling this avatar, or was this avatar controlling him?

The idea was unnerving, but compelling. Perhaps there was some 10,000 year plan buried deep inside his psyche. Suzuki Satoru was almost afraid to find out what it was.

Demiurge dropped into a deep bow. "I fear that we would lose this great advantage if you were not given the freedom to direct us as you see fit. I beg of you, my lord, please consider remaining on the throne of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Or, if you decide that you are tired of the pursuit of world domination, please allow us to follow you as your loyal servants in whatever endeavor you pursue."

As he spoke, all of the other guardians dropped to their knees, and pleaded along with him silently with their eyes. There was nothing they feared more than losing their Supreme Being, it seemed. Perhaps that fear was justified; if there really was a silent Overlord's mind inside of Ainz, then his leadership really was the natural state of things, and what was best for Nazarick.

Ainz laughed again, but this time the darkness in it was replaced by genuine joviality. "As ridiculous as all of this sounds to me, I suppose there's no convincing any of your otherwise. You may believe whatever brings you comfort." He chuckled to himself. "Even after I stepped down, it seems your first action was to elect me back into this position immediately. I will keep my throne if that is what you all wish."

For a split second, it seemed like all of them were about to explode into joyous cheers. However, they still saw the situation as delicate, so they brought themselves even closer to the ground in fear that their master might change his mind.

"We thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for your graciousness, my lord," Albedo said. "We may not fully comprehend your nature, but we understand that you are a superior being in all respects. Our lives are eternally yours."

"Please, you do not need to grovel." Ainz's regal bearing was starting to return. "I am the one who should be thanking you, for being so understanding."

"If I may, my Lord," Shalltear spoke up, "may I ask you something?"

"Of course, Shalltear."

She stood. "You said that you never told us in order to protect yourself. By learning this, have we put you in danger?" Clearly the thought horrified her, but she stood tall with clenched fists, determined to beat down anything that dared threaten her master.

He shook his head. "Oh, no, I am not. It seems I never was." Now that he knew there was no danger in being honest, he felt he owed them an explanation. "It seems my concerns were based on a misunderstanding. Demiurge mentioned that before we arrived in the new world, all of you saw me and the other Supreme Beings as alien entities incapable of being understood. I experienced a similar phenomena in how I perceived you, although not quite the same. From my perspective, all of you were more like machines than people, able to do nothing but fight according to strategies we defined for you and follow basic commands. The Supreme Beings all thought you were incapable of emotion or complex thought. When we were transported to this world, the moment I first noticed that something had changed was the moment I heard Albedo speak, something she had never been able to do before."

"Would you prefer me to stay silent, my lord?" Albedo asked.

"Absolutely not," Ainz said. "I much prefer you all this way. You more effective guardians now that you're capable of strategizing and adapting on your own, and more importantly, I value you as friends. No, not just friends; you are all my family. Living in a tomb full of mindless drones would be terribly lonely. Yes, I am very glad that this new world has placed all of us on the same level of understanding.

"However, I had concerns about this at first," he admitted. "In YGGDRASIL, I trusted all of you because you were created to follow orders perfectly, and had no ability to rebel. But once I learned that you are capable of independent thought, I worried that any of you could decide that I was not worth your loyalty. I believed that if I failed to live up to your expectations of what a Supreme Being should be, you would deem me unworthy of my position, and you would leave. Besides, I couldn't bear to disappoint you all, after you put so much faith in me."

"We could never leave you, Lord Ainz!" Albedo cried out, upset by the very notion.

"AGREED." Cocytus said. "THAT. WOULD. BE. UNTHINKABLE."

"Yes, I see that now." He wished that he had skin so that they could see the warm smile he wore in his heart. "I could never thank you all enough for standing by me. I may not feel worthy of your loyalty, but I will work my hardest to deserve it."

"Guardians!" Demiurge threw his hands out to the side dramatically. "Let us reaffirm our fidelity to Nazarick, and to our king, Ainz Ooal Gown!"

The floor guardians arranged themselves before Ainz, and launched into a display exactly like the one they had shown him on his first day in the new world, the first time he had gathered them all together. No, it wasn't exactly the same. There was more emotion in their voice now—maybe because they had barely recovered from the fear of losing Ainz, or maybe because their allegiance to him was stronger than ever.

"My Lord," Albedo began. "We the guardians pledge our eternal fidelity."

"I am the guardian of the first, second, and third floors. Shalltear Bloodfallen. I serve and obey."

"The guardian of the fifth floor, Cocytus. I serve and obey."

"I am the guardian of the sixth floor, Aura Bella Fiora."

Aura waited, expecting her brother to chime in and finish the line, but Mare didn't. The pause turned into a deep and uncomfortable silence. The other guardians side-eyed Mare, their gazes growing more hostile with every passing second. He remained still and silent, his bangs shrouding his downcast eyes in shadow, clutching his staff as if he might collapse at any moment.

"Are you feeling well, Mare?" Ainz asked, as gently as he could manage. His non-existant stomach knotted in uneasiness. He was still ready to accept if Mare didn't want to serve him anymore, but he feared how the others might react.

Mare looked up at him, and he saw that the elf's heterochromic eyes were brimming with tears.

"We were always praising your plans… We sounded like we only admired you because you always knew what to do." He clutched his staff tighter, his knees wobbling. "W-we made you think your greatness was a lie. It must have been so s-scary for you, and painful, thinking that we might betray you… You pretended every day, and hid the real you, just to make us happy…" He collapsed onto his knees, dropped his staff, and sobbed into his hand. "You were hurting and we only made it worse! I-I'm so sorry!"

The anger of the other floor guardians quickly dissolved into discomfort at the realization, then horror. Some of them looked like they were about to join Mare in tears.

"N-no, Mare!" Ainz's undead nature barely kept him from falling into a panic. He approached Mare, crouched down to be closer to his level, and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "This is not your fault at all. The only one I have to blame is myself. You all proved your loyalty to me countless times, and I am the one who refused to trust you. I don't want to hear anyone blaming themselves for this but me, is that understood?"

Suddenly, Mare lept forward and wrapped his small arms around Ainz, clinging to him desperately. "P-please don't lie to us anymore, Lord Ainz!"

"MARE!" Aura lunged at her brother, intending to pull him off and perhaps beat him to a pulp for being so rude to their master, but Ainz put a defensive arm around Mare to keep him in place.

"It's not good enough if you're only pretending to be happy," Mare whimpered. "I want you to be happy for real. It's all I want, I'll do anything to make that happen! But I c-can't do that if I don't know you're hurting…"

Ainz stood up, lifting Mare off of the ground and cradling him in his arms. "I swear to you, I will be honest from now on."

Mare hugged him even tighter, nuzzling into his robe. "I am also the guardian of the sixth floor, Mare Bella Fiora. I serve and obey."

Aura stood at Ainz's feet, hesitating, looking up at her brother with a confused mix of fear and jealousy. Ainz chuckled to himself, then scooped Aura up into his other arm. In spite of herself, she smiled and hugged him too. "I serve and obey!" she added cheerily.

Seeing that the ceremony was back on track, Demiurge bowed. "The guardian of the seventh floor, Demiurge. I serve and obey." He gave Ainz a rare, sincere smile of reassurance. "Always."

"And I am the leader of the floor guardians, Albedo." Although she way doing her best to sound professional, Albedo was clearly calculating whether she could afford to leap onto Ainz like Mare had. Her hips swayed like the hindquarters of a cat preparing to pounce. "I serve and obey."

Ainz returned to his position on the throne—his rightful position, it seemed. "I am the supreme leader of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown," he declared. His voice once against boomed with the forcefulness of a confident ruler. "I serve and guide all of you, to the best of my ability. Today is the beginning of a new, brighter era of the Sorcerous Kingdom."

"All hail, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown!" Demiurge shouted.

"ALL HAIL!" The voices of the guardians rung out in unison.

From her knees, Albedo looked up at Ainz. "Now, my lord, what are your orders?"

"Since I must be honest, I did not think I would have the chance to give any more orders," Ainz admitted. "I will need a moment to think."

"Of course, my lord."

All of the guardians waited for his response in perfect silence and stillness. Ainz felt none of the same pressure he had the previous times they had awaited his orders. In the past they had waited with baited breath, eyes glimering with excitement and expectation; now, they idled patiently with calm smiles upon their faces, sure that a satisfactory answer would come in due time.

The remains of Suzuki Satoru inside of Ainz sighed with relief. _Aaah, this is so much better!_

As much as he wanted to revel in the change, he knew that he shouldn't. His reputation may not be on the line anymore, but he didn't want his family waiting on their knees forever. He pondered, switching his thoughts back over to business.

"There is something I have been wanting to get done for a while, but I am not sure how to proceed," he said. "It goes without saying that people outside of Nazarick cannot be allowed to learn what you all now know about me. As guardians, your fidelity is unconditional, but I cannot say the same for humans. This means I must continue to act all-knowing while outside of Nazarick.

"For the past few months, I have been watching Emperor Jircniv from afar to learn about his diplomatic and political strategies. He is a skilled ruler in those regards, and I have learned much from my observations. However, this method can only get me so far. There are many questions about kingly etiquette that I would like to ask him directly, but I am not sure how to do so without weakening his respect for me." He looked to Demiurge and Albedo. "Do any of you have ideas for how to go about this?"

"We could kidnap him and extract the information," Albedo suggested.

"No, that won't do," Ainz said. "Jircniv is a strong stabilizing force within the Baharuth Empire, and very well liked by the people. If he vanishes, the citizens of the Empire will distrust the Sorcerous Kingdom even more than they already do."

With the obvious solution out of the way, she had to think harder. "Perhaps one of us could survey him on his leadership strategies, and claim that we are making sure his policies align with the Sorcerous Kingdom's standards."

"That may be suspicious," Demiurge countered. "Would we not be able to judge that by observing his policies in action?"

"A good point." Ainz nodded in agreement. "Still, it is a good plan if we can't think of anything else."

"I have an idea, my lord," Demiurge said. "You can simply ask him. But, instead of saying that you have general inexperience with politics, you can frame your problem as inexperience with ruling over humans. You can tell Jircniv that you are a king from a land of heteromorphs, who are much more rational and intelligent subjects. Humans are overly emotional and reactive, which has made it difficult for them to accept your superior policies. Of course, you are strong enough to subjugate them by force, but you are a benevolent king who wishes to make his subjects happy. And so, you need information regarding human emotions in the context of politics, which Jircniv is qualified to provide.

"Even for the most cunning leader, there is no shame in admitting a lack of knowledge on a topic that you have never had any way of knowing about. Gathering information to be more effective is simply reconnaissance. Under these circumstances he will be motivated to tell you the whole truth in order to keep you from forcibly subjugating his people. In addition, this will improve your relationship with Jircniv in multiple dimensions. Sharing seemingly personal information with him will encourage trust, and by making him believe that you have a concrete use for him, he will feel reassured that you will not dispose of him and will be less likely to conspire against you."

Ainz traced over Demiurge's logic in his head a few times, and found that it checked out. Perhaps showing a glimmer of honesty to Jircniv would not be as disastrous as he feared. "Very good, Demiurge. As expected of Nazarick's greatest strategist."

"I am only doing as you…" He stopped himself, remembering all the things they had just discussed. Instead, he bowed. "You are too kind, my lord." For a moment, Ainz swore that he saw Demiurge blushing.

"That settles it, then." Ainz put Aura and Mare back onto the ground. "In a few days time, I will depart to the Baharuth Empire to convene with Jircniv. Albedo will accompany me. Demiurge, could you send a letter to the Baharuth Empire announcing my arrival?" Jircniv seemed pretty upset the last time he showed up unannounced, and he didn't want to repeat that mistake.

"Of course, I will do so right away," Demiurge said.

Ainz waved his hand to dismiss the meeting. "All of you may return to your regular duties."

In a chorus of "yes, Lord Ainz" and "as you wish", the guardians bowed and scattered. Soon Ainz was left alone on his throne, still reeling from everything that happened. The truth was out, and now his servants were more loyal than ever. He felt like a moron for not expecting this outcome.

_Sasuga, guardians._

_—_

_—_

_—_

**A/N: I thought this would be the end of this story, but there's a short epilogue I still want to write. Stay tuned for that!**


	3. Epilogue

**Thanks for all of the reviews, everyone! I'm glad you all enjoyed this ride with me. This is the final chapter of this story, but I do have a few ideas for other stories that could be told in this continuity, such as Ainz getting lessons from Jircniv. I'm going to focus on my other story Griefers for a bit first, but you may see more from the Sasuga-verse soon.**

**And a note on Albedo using Gate: I could have sworn she used it in episode 3 of the anime when show showed up late to Carne Village after Ainz saved Enri, but going back to check it looks like she piggybacked on the Gate that Ainz casted. My bad. I might go back and edit that later. **

—

—

—

Demiurge stared down at the letter he had penned with a dissatisfied frown. He crumpled it up and set it aflame with his demonic hellfire, then tossed it aside to smolder in the ashes of his past attempts. "Not quite," he muttered.

He'd been agonizing over this simple letter to Jircniv for hours, particularly over the sentences that implied Lord Ainz was less knowledgable than a mere human about, well, anything. In the same way that Ainz was unable to truly accept his own competence, it seemed that Demiurge found it unnatural to consider any part of his master as ignorant.

Well, that was something he needed to get over. Some part of Lord Ainz had decided that it was best for them to operate in this manner, and as a floor guardian, it was his duty to adapt. His tail flicked in anticipation as he wondered why Ainz chose now of all times to reveal this side of himself to the guardians. Was some major event on the horizon that required them all to understand the multifaceted nature of the Supreme Ones? The fact that he quite literally could not get an answer out of Ainz only made him more curious.

As his mind continued to wander, he realized that he was in no state to produce a suitable letter. He almost felt the sting of failure strike him, but then he remembered that his master wouldn't be leaving for several days, which gave him plenty of time to complete the task. No doubt Lord Ainz was sympathetic to how frazzled the minds of the floor guardians must be after today. He wasn't about to use this as an excuse to leave the task for the last moment, of course, but he felt that he could afford to take a walk and clear his head.

Demiurge put down the pen and stood. He didn't want this walk to be a complete waste of time, so he would take the opportunity to check in on the other guardians, and make sure they were recovering well.

He strolled through the dark hallways of his own floor of Nazarick, enjoying the sight of his demonic minions lumbering about and the sound of the hopeless screams of his various test subjects. At first his wandering was aimless, as he was not sure whether it would be right to move up or down a floor first.

Of all the guardians, he was most worried about Albedo. She was likely overcome by frustration that she hadn't noticed her beloved Ainz's true nature before Demiurge had, and combined with the general stress of the day so far, he could scarcely imagine what kind of downward spiral she might be caught in. The very thing that had him so worried was the same thing that made him hesitant to pay her a visit—he might be the last person she wanted to see.

Ultimately, he decided it was best to give her some space. He headed for the north end of the 7th floor and ascended the stairs to the 6th.

As much as he enjoyed the sweltering heat of his own lair, the cool fresh air of the 6th floor sent a refreshing tingle across his skin. He found himself in the secret back room of the arena, only accessible to denizens of Nazarick or intruders who completed the 6th floor's challenge. He slipped through the heavily barred metal door before him like it was nothing but air and stepped out into the open arena floor.

When Demiurge last saw this coliseum, its floor was a dry expanse of packed dirt and crushed stone. Now, it was flooded with fresh water, with a ring of earth around the pool only wide enough for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder. The water churned as some great beast writhed around in the center of it.

"Hold still!" he heard Aura yell from somewhere in the center of the pool, behind the veil of spraying water. "Or else this is going to take all day!"

The gigantic beast, which Demiurge still couldn't make out clearly, bellowed in displeasure.

"Yes, I do need to get behind your ears!" Aura snapped back.

Seeing that Aura's efforts were leading her nowhere, Demiurge stepped up to the edge of the pool, and spoke using his Command Mantra: "Freeze."

With that, the beast calmed suddenly and immediately. The splashed water rained down and settled, giving Demiurge a clear view of the creature, a bright red wolf with black horns protruding from its skull. Its muscular body was as long as five horses and as wide as three. Aura sat on the back of its neck, clinging its crimson fur with one hand and holding a large, soapy scrubber in the other.

She brushed her dripping wet bangs out of her eyes, then beamed when she saw her visitor. "Hi Demiurge! Thanks for the help. What are you doing here?"

"Simply checking in on the other floors." He cocked his head in curiosity. "What is it you're up to?"

"It sounded to me like Lord Ainz wants to visit the empire the way other kings do, so he's probably not going to [Gate] there, right?" Aura scrubbed the now docile wolf's ears as she mused aloud, ignoring its quiet whimpers of complaint. "If he's going to ride into the city, he should have a procession! Or at least something cool to ride on." She glared down at the wolf. "And _you're_ not going anywhere near Lord Ainz smelling like this. Yuck."

Demiurge narrowed his eyes at the beast. Sure it was a good size, large enough to be impressive but small enough to fit on city streets, and its fur was a lovely color, but it was also weak enough to fall for his Command Mantra. "Are you sure this creature is… suitable?"

"I know she's not very strong," Aura confessed. "But Lord Ainz is going to visit Jircniv. That guy gets scared real easily." She pouted, probably recalling how the emperor had reacted to her beautiful pet dragon that time she'd landed in his castle. "We can't have Lord Ainz ride in on something that would scare Jircniv off. That would ruin the whole mission!"

"Indeed." Demiurge nodded. He himself had considered Lord Ainz's entrance, and how they would need to be careful to strike a balance between grandeur and approachability in order to manipulate Jircniv while maintaining the respect of the people. Still, he was not convinced that this creature was right for the task. "Are you sure this beast won't scare him?"

Aura shrugged. "Pretty sure. I asked Narberal what animals humans like, and she said they think dogs are cute." She scratched the wolf's cheeks. Demiurge could feel it straining against his Command Mantra, trying to wag its tail in happiness. "When it comes to dogs, you can't get much cuter than a big puppy!"

All of the pieces clicked together in Demiurge's mind. The beast did seem familiar, but he hadn't recognized it because this one was juvenile. Normally, Giantsbane Hellhounds were ten times this size, had rows of dark spines running down their backs, and had flames rippling all across their body. Either the young of this species hadn't sprouted back spikes yet, or Aura had done something to remove the spikes and make it more comfortable to ride. She had likely removed its fire aura for the same reason.

"I see. Excellent work, Aura." Demiurge gave her a satisfied smile.

"So, will Demiurge be tagging along to keep your mutt under control?" A third voice chimed. "You can't seem to do it yourself."

Shalltear slid into the arena, bathed in the shadow of her open parasol, a sly smile across her face.

Aura bristled when she saw the vampire. "Nuh-uh! I've got this!" She released her grip on the hellhound and crossed her arms, as if to prove she had this under control, but the fact that Demiurge was still the one commanding the beast didn't help her case. Personally, Demiurge wasn't worried; it was only natural for a hellhound to resist a bath in water, no matter how well trained.

"What are you even doing here?" Aura asked with a pout.

Demiurge was ready for a long round of bickering between the two of them—sometimes Aura and Shalltear acted more like siblings than Aura and Mare did, especially during arguments—but instead, Shalltear lost her smile. She looked to Demiurge with frightening intensity. "I need to speak with Demiurge," she said.

He took a split second to examine her expression more closely. While deathly serious, she didn't seem angry or hostile. "What do you need, Shalltear?" he asked.

"I…" Her red eyes softened. "I thought of something, about Lord Ainz. I may be wrong, but you know a lot more about the minds of Supreme Beings than I do…"

"Even I know very little," he said, as if to assure her.

"Still, you would know better than anyone if this makes sense," she said.

He nodded, signalling her to continue.

"When you were talking about his conscious mind and unconscious mind, you said that was an oversimplification," she said.

"Correct."

"Does that mean there could be more than two halves to his mind?" she asked.

"In all likelihood, there are more than two," Demiurge said. "The vast intellect we've seen from him has to be more than the product of just two minds."

The topic of conversation caught Aura's attention. She leapt off the wolf, clearing the distance between the center of the pool and the edge in a single bound, and landed behind Demiurge.

"Yes. Well." Shalltear cast her eyes downward, and tightened her grip on her parasol. "When I… when I fought Lord Ainz, he said that I was facing the might of all 41 Supreme Beings. I thought he was referring to their weapons that he was using, but now…"

She didn't need to complete the thought, because Demiurge already knew. His breath caught in his throat. "Of course." The revelation left him shivering. "How did I not realize…?"

He felt Aura tugging on the back of his suit jacket, bringing him down to earth somewhat. "What's wrong, Demiurge?" she asked, clearly worried.

In response, all he could do was laugh. To outsiders it would have been the sick, bone-chilling cackle of a heartless monster, but his close friends could hear the pure joy and relief in it.

Shalltear clasped her hand together, her eyes sparkling with hope, so giddy one might have thought Lord Ainz himself just complimented her. "Am I right, Demiurge? Is it true?"

"It must be!" he declared with a flourish. "Why else would he rename himself Ainz Ooal Gown?"

After watching her friends celebrate, Aura didn't seem worried anymore, but she plainly wore her confusion. "What are you two talking about?"

Demiurge turned to Aura. Usually when he explained his complex thoughts he would remain calm and collected, but that couldn't be farther from the case now. His tail lashed back and forth, almost like that of an excited dog, and he wore a wide small filled with excitement and childlike wonder.

"I was wrong before," he said, as bubbly as a schoolgirl. "Lord Ainz isn't Momonga's avatar."

Aura's brow furrowed as her confusion deepened. "Then what is he?"

His arms flung out to the side as joyous words exploded from him. "He is the avatar of all 41 Supreme Beings! Lord Touch Me, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Lord Ulbert Alain Odle… All of them are within him, guiding Nazarick!"

Normally Aura would have been amused by Demiurge acting so undignified, but she was too blown away by the news to care. She looked up at him with shimmering eyes as wide as the moon. "A-and Lady Bukubukuchagama?"

"Her too. And Lord Perorochino." He clutched his hands over his heart, as if it were about to burst. "They never abandoned us. They ascended so they could better watch over us!"

For a long while, all of them were too overcome with emotion to say anything more. Aura remembered each and every bit of praise or kindness Lord Ainz had ever bestowed upon her, and wept with joy as she realized that all of those gestures came from her creator too. Shalltear realized that laying with Lord Ainz now meant laying with all of the Supreme Beings at once, and that raunchy idea alone thrusted her nearly to the edge of climax. Demons could not cry, but if he had the capacity, Demiurge would have been sobbing right along with Aura.

"I need to tell Mare!" Aura shouted as soon as she came to her senses. She almost sprinted away, but Demiurge caught her by the shoulder.

"Wait," he said, his voice suddenly more somber. "You can, but before you go, I should make something clear."

Aura and Shalltear both listened with rapt attention.

"I believe it's best if we do not tell Albedo about this," he said. "Although she tries to hide it, I have noticed that she is not as enthusiastic about the other Supreme Beings as she is about Momonga. Not even about Lord Tabula Smaragdina."

Demiurge didn't need to explain to the other guardians how suspicious that was. They all nodded in silent agreement.

"Likewise, I am not yet sure if it is the best idea to tell Lord Ainz at this moment."

"We can't keep secrets from Lord Ainz!" Aura countered. "Not when he just promised to be honest with us. Shouldn't we be honest back?"

"I agree, but I cannot predict how he might respond to this revelation," he said. "I'm not even sure if he is already aware or not. I want to observe him further before deciding how to go about this. However, it should be safe to tell Mare, and Cocytus as well, as long as they are clear on these terms."

"Okay!" Aura chirped.

Demiurge released her shoulder and patted her on the back, giving her permission to go along. She leapt off over the walls of the coliseum, leaving the other guardians and her hellhound behind.

"My deepest thanks, Shalltear," Demiurge said once Aura was gone. "I completely looked over this possibility. Perhaps some part of me thought it was too good to be true."

"Oh, I'm sure you would have thought of it eventually," she said. Still, she wore a proud smile; it wasn't every day that a guardian besides Albedo had their ideas complimented by Demiurge.

"Perhaps. But, I am thankful I didn't have to wait for that." He stared blissfully up at the open sky above. Were the Supreme Beings limited to seeing out of Lord Ainz's eyes, or was his creator looking down on him now? Either way, it was more than he could ever have asked for. "To think, I believed that they really had abandoned us. I've never been so glad to be wrong."

Reenergized, he felt a fire igniting in his belly, a burning desire to serve. With forty more Supreme Beings to dedicate himself to, he was forty times as eager to please them—perhaps more. He couldn't stand procrastinating any longer, not while there was glorious work to be done. "If you excuse me, Shalltear, I must return to my duties."


End file.
